As we evolve how we engage in our collaborative planning, I want to encourage you to consider some facts about the students in our classrooms that ought to have strong bearing on the way we approach their education. As you know, DI is here to stay, and we are in the early stages of implementing it, many of us still wrestling with it, trying to find out exactly what it is. In practice, we are at the point where we are designing our lessons, and then going back and “adding DI” or “making sure we have some DI”, as if it were a second step. What Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, adds to the conversation, is that we deliberately consider the diverse needs of our students from the beginning, and plan differentiated lessons from the outset, rather than “doing it twice”.
As daunting a task as it seems to be to find ways to engage all our students, rather than using a format that hits as many as possible with a single approach, we have some technology at our disposal that can be a great help.
As you know, our students are not like we were as students, but, that’s not all bad. It is important for us to understand how we are different. While we may have grown up reading more books, on average, than today’s students, we also grew up watching more television. The computer use, social media and video game playing that consumes so much of their time is far more interactive and engaging than the TV watching that filled many of our afternoons, evenings and weekends. Also, though they may not read as much printed text, they read much more digital text than we ever did, or do. The result is students who are accustomed to rapid-fire bombardment of information, largely visual, shorter attention spans and (the illusion of) multi-tasking. A decade ago we might have stood firm claiming that they were going to have to learn to learn our way, because that’s the way the world works, but the rest of the world has moved on with them. Instead of being able to claim that we do them a disservice by not holding them accountable to our way of doing things, we are actually doing them a disservice by insisting on it.
Our students are looking for faced-paced, maybe self-paced instruction that allows for some choice and presents them with multiple modes of accessing information as well as multiple means of expressing what they know. Technology enables us to give those opportunities to them, without having to make several different lessons for each class period.
Love and respect,
Matthew
What barriers are inherent in traditional assessments?
"little snippets" don't give a thorough or accurate picture of what students know or have learned
what maximizes test scores doesn't tend to maximize student learning
assessments are artificial and far removed from both the process of learning the content and the real-life application of the knowledge
Many assessments are inadvertantly actually assessments of reading ability, visual acuity, attention to task or fine motor skills, in addition to, or rather than, the content that is intended to be assessed
What are the challenges in offering varied options for assessment?
in spite of changes to local and informal assessments, large-scale formal assessments remain unchanged in format
it requires an entirely different way of thinking about assessment, validity, and test construction
tradition
costs (in time and money)
For classroom teachers,
time and effort
cooperation (buy-in) from co-teachers, peers, department chairs, etc.
understanding of UDL, differentiation MI
CA#1 What is UDL?
Universal Design for Learning is a philosophical approach to curriculum design and lesson planning intended to "reach" all students by taking into account diversity of student interests and abilities. UDL varies the means of representation, expression and engagement used in the classroom, and leverages innovations in digital media as a way to accomplish much of the variation/differentiation. Instructional material is presented in a variety of modalities, students can respond in a variety of formats, and attention is given to ways to keep students motivated and engaged.
Reflection 1
I hear almost every day from peers complaining that the curriculum is inflexible, that the “racing guide” kills creativity in instruction. In planning, we tend to fill out the required documents, then do our real planning, which means covering the activities in the curriculum, and then (maybe) going back to add DI to the already-completed lesson plans.
Starting the planning with UDL as a philosophical starting point would help make sure lessons are differentiated with purpose from the beginning of planning, not as an afterthought resulting from a checklist.
Students have an incredible range, an infinite combinations and strengths, weaknesses, approaches to learning. That brings an infinite number of possible roadblocks to any one instructional approach, meaning that rather than remedial detours, we need to present multiple routes as soon as we start each trip.
Reflection 2
Analyzing the curriculum for strengths and weaknesses, and making it able to address all needs, addresses the needs of everyone, rather than addressing each student's needs individually. It makes the up-front job much bigger than trying a one-size-fits all approach, but then virtually eliminates the need to go behind and modify on an individual basis, which is far more time consuming. It allows for lesson planning to be done in one sitting, as opposed to creating the lesson, and then returning to it to add in differentiation as if it were a separate step.
Doing so necessitates an awareness of individuals' strengths, needs, learning styles, etc. It also requires a knowledge of techniques that address each modality, and finding or creating resources to address each. The biggest hurdle, though, may be getting those you plan with onboard to change the way we do things together.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1
5 new technologies to try
wikispaces
googledocs
google notebook
online simulations
wordle.net
MS notecards
voicethread
4 ideas to share with others
using googledocs for collaborative planning
wikispaces for class-wide home-school communication
edutopia top 10 tips
www.facesoflearning.com
www.voki.com
commoncraft show videos
maps101.com for Social Studies teachers
3 principles of Universal Design for Learning
multiple means of representation
multiple means of expression
multiple means of engagement
2 changes in your teaching to reach all learners in the Digital Age
check out the laptop cart on a regular basis
MS Onepage
more Prezis
keep updating edmodo
1 BIG idea to implement “on Monday”
Rikki Tiki Tavi Prezi
flashcards
10/9/11
I am looking at Flashcards on the Microsoft site. We use A LOT of physical flashcards in Social Studies, and although I've spent time training the students how to use them effectively, well, I like that this program enforces those practices.
With staff, I have referred several staff members to Common Craft videos, and hope to get them included on our morning announcements, which only teachers seem to watch unless it's a video of the school dance.
I have started edmodo pages which a handful of students are now accessing, and have used one Prezi. I recently received an email from Prezi, which said that I can import existing PowerPoint presentations into Prezi, which I'm hoping I can do without upgrading to a premium membership.
I'm REALY curious about voicestreams, and will be playing with that this week.
This is my (almost) last class in the MAEd program at Gratz. I am in my 6th year at Meade Middle, 17th year in Anne Arundel County and 18th year in education.
My wife and I just got back from our 6th trip to Disney World, with 6 of our children.
I teach Special Education. Last year I was in Math. Since I became certified in Math last spring, naturally they moved me back to Language Arts and Social Studies.
As we evolve how we engage in our collaborative planning, I want to encourage you to consider some facts about the students in our classrooms that ought to have strong bearing on the way we approach their education. As you know, DI is here to stay, and we are in the early stages of implementing it, many of us still wrestling with it, trying to find out exactly what it is. In practice, we are at the point where we are designing our lessons, and then going back and “adding DI” or “making sure we have some DI”, as if it were a second step. What Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, adds to the conversation, is that we deliberately consider the diverse needs of our students from the beginning, and plan differentiated lessons from the outset, rather than “doing it twice”.
As daunting a task as it seems to be to find ways to engage all our students, rather than using a format that hits as many as possible with a single approach, we have some technology at our disposal that can be a great help.
As you know, our students are not like we were as students, but, that’s not all bad. It is important for us to understand how we are different. While we may have grown up reading more books, on average, than today’s students, we also grew up watching more television. The computer use, social media and video game playing that consumes so much of their time is far more interactive and engaging than the TV watching that filled many of our afternoons, evenings and weekends. Also, though they may not read as much printed text, they read much more digital text than we ever did, or do. The result is students who are accustomed to rapid-fire bombardment of information, largely visual, shorter attention spans and (the illusion of) multi-tasking. A decade ago we might have stood firm claiming that they were going to have to learn to learn our way, because that’s the way the world works, but the rest of the world has moved on with them. Instead of being able to claim that we do them a disservice by not holding them accountable to our way of doing things, we are actually doing them a disservice by insisting on it.
Our students are looking for faced-paced, maybe self-paced instruction that allows for some choice and presents them with multiple modes of accessing information as well as multiple means of expressing what they know. Technology enables us to give those opportunities to them, without having to make several different lessons for each class period.
Love and respect,
Matthew
What are the challenges in offering varied options for assessment?
- in spite of changes to local and informal assessments, large-scale formal assessments remain unchanged in format
- it requires an entirely different way of thinking about assessment, validity, and test construction
- tradition
- costs (in time and money)
For classroom teachers,CA#1 What is UDL?
Universal Design for Learning is a philosophical approach to curriculum design and lesson planning intended to "reach" all students by taking into account diversity of student interests and abilities. UDL varies the means of representation, expression and engagement used in the classroom, and leverages innovations in digital media as a way to accomplish much of the variation/differentiation. Instructional material is presented in a variety of modalities, students can respond in a variety of formats, and attention is given to ways to keep students motivated and engaged.
Reflection 1
I hear almost every day from peers complaining that the curriculum is inflexible, that the “racing guide” kills creativity in instruction. In planning, we tend to fill out the required documents, then do our real planning, which means covering the activities in the curriculum, and then (maybe) going back to add DI to the already-completed lesson plans.
Starting the planning with UDL as a philosophical starting point would help make sure lessons are differentiated with purpose from the beginning of planning, not as an afterthought resulting from a checklist.
Students have an incredible range, an infinite combinations and strengths, weaknesses, approaches to learning. That brings an infinite number of possible roadblocks to any one instructional approach, meaning that rather than remedial detours, we need to present multiple routes as soon as we start each trip.Reflection 2
Analyzing the curriculum for strengths and weaknesses, and making it able to address all needs, addresses the needs of everyone, rather than addressing each student's needs individually. It makes the up-front job much bigger than trying a one-size-fits all approach, but then virtually eliminates the need to go behind and modify on an individual basis, which is far more time consuming. It allows for lesson planning to be done in one sitting, as opposed to creating the lesson, and then returning to it to add in differentiation as if it were a separate step.
Doing so necessitates an awareness of individuals' strengths, needs, learning styles, etc. It also requires a knowledge of techniques that address each modality, and finding or creating resources to address each. The biggest hurdle, though, may be getting those you plan with onboard to change the way we do things together.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1
5 new technologies to try
4 ideas to share with others
3 principles of Universal Design for Learning
2 changes in your teaching to reach all learners in the Digital Age
1 BIG idea to implement “on Monday”
10/9/11
I am looking at Flashcards on the Microsoft site. We use A LOT of physical flashcards in Social Studies, and although I've spent time training the students how to use them effectively, well, I like that this program enforces those practices.
With staff, I have referred several staff members to Common Craft videos, and hope to get them included on our morning announcements, which only teachers seem to watch unless it's a video of the school dance.
I have started edmodo pages which a handful of students are now accessing, and have used one Prezi. I recently received an email from Prezi, which said that I can import existing PowerPoint presentations into Prezi, which I'm hoping I can do without upgrading to a premium membership.
I'm REALY curious about voicestreams, and will be playing with that this week.
This is my (almost) last class in the MAEd program at Gratz. I am in my 6th year at Meade Middle, 17th year in Anne Arundel County and 18th year in education.
My wife and I just got back from our 6th trip to Disney World, with 6 of our children.
I teach Special Education. Last year I was in Math. Since I became certified in Math last spring, naturally they moved me back to Language Arts and Social Studies.